LOS ANGELES — At the first sign of a sniffle or stormy weather ahead Lourdes Lopez keeps her 10-year-old daughter, Alison, home from school.
Alison has Down syndrome and is more vulnerable to illness. A cold can be a major hardship, Lopez said, not only for her daughter, but her entire family living in an overcrowded apartment in South Los Angeles.
Once again this winter, Lopez is feeling a dreadful sense of déjà vu. She doesn’t feel that her daughter is safe at school, especially with masking optional and no universal COVID-19 testing in Los Angeles schools. Alison has missed enough days that school officials have met with Lopez to discuss the absences.
